Mr. NELSON. Mr. President, I rise today to express serious concern
about reports in the press that the administration is considering deep
cuts in funding to crucial aspects of our Nation's national security
and our homeland security to pay for the construction of a border wall
and also for a crackdown on illegal immigration. The first target that alarmed me was America's maritime guardian, the
U.S. Coast Guard. Even as the administration says it plans to secure the borders and
increase funding for our military by $54 billion, which, in fact, may
be a good thing, it is reportedly considering cuts on the nondefense
side--and that includes the Department of Homeland Security--with a cut
of $1.3 billion, or 12 percent, to the very military service that
secures our vast maritime borders, and that is the Coast Guard.
Keywords matched
illegal immigration border wall